Winter: The Perfect Time to Sell Your House
December 14, 2023 | Blog | Reading Time 3:00 Minutes
Conventional wisdom suggests that putting a home up for sale during the winter months is a bad idea. Conventional wisdom is not, in this instance, correct. In fact, there are very real benefits to putting your home on the market during our most brutal season rather than waiting until spring.
Deadlines are Motivating.
One of the major advantages of listing your home during the winter is that people out looking, are likely to be the most serious buyers. In all likelihood, people shopping during the winter are probably facing a need rather than just a desire to move. There might be a job change in the picture and, consequently, a deadline. They’re going to mean business. What that means for the seller is that these motivated potential buyers are going to be committed and ready to make competitive offers.
Less Competition
Another benefit of listing your home during the winter is that it’ll be part of a very limited inventory…because many people abide by conventional wisdom and wait until spring. Fewer homes on the market isn’t good news for buyers, but it is great news for sellers. There’s less from which to choose; as the seller, you’ll have greater market visibility, and there’s more of a chance to launch a bidding war. That’s not a bad position to be in.
Statistics show that average listing prices are higher during the winter, and houses sell more quickly. So winter is the time to sell!!
Weather Isn’t As Much of a Factor
Because of the wonders of modern technology, buyers don’t have to pound the pavement to check out potential homes. Most buyers start their home search on the Internet and can get a good feel for what might work for them before stepping outside in the cold. The homes they’ll actually tour, will be ones with which they’re already familiar, and are considering pursuing. So, the colder months don’t have as much of a negative impact on home searches as they formerly did.
Attentive real estate agent
Because conventional wisdom suggests people wait until spring to sell their homes, real estate agents generally find they have more time on their hands during the winter months. This means they’ll be especially motivated, and attentive to getting your home viewed and sold! Their undivided attention will pay off!
Mortgage rates rise in the spring.
Because mortgage rates are prone to increase in the spring, buyers might be willing to pay a higher price upfront during the winter. That’s money in your pocket!
The most important reason of all.
There’s the most pressing reason of all not to wait until spring to list your home. You’ve made the most important decision of all…to move into our engaging, carefree senior living community where you can enjoy your retirement years among like-minded, friendly, interesting people. Why wait?? The only complaint we ever hear is that people wished they’d made the move sooner! So don’t wait until spring!!
Millcroft Living is partnering with LivNow, a relocation service that helps seniors make every aspect of a move seamless. To learn more about the relocation process, click here.